SAN ANTONIO – A longtime Northside Independent School District ALE teacher is pleased with the compensation packages district leaders proposed for the upcoming school year. However, she says there is still more work to be done as far as pay goes for district employees.
- Some teachers have 2 jobs
- New teachers will start at $55,445
- Other districts approved similar pay raises
Terry Gonzalez is a 20-year veteran with NISD. This upcoming school year, she is teaching 5th graders with special needs at Linton Elementary School. Despite being a full-time educator, she also works a side job to make ends meet.
“I’m a teacher that has two jobs. I’m single. I don’t have a second person to help me with income so I have to pay mortgage and regular bills like everyone else,” said Gonzalez.
This year, Gonzalez will see an increase in her paycheck. On Wednesday, district leaders proposed and approved a new compensation package for full-time teachers. The move comes after House Bill 3 was passed in the last legislative session. NISD is slated to receive $42 million in new revenue as a result of the legislation. However, it will cost the district $33.8 million to fund the raises.
“What [district leaders] offered was sustainable to keep us going for the next 4 to 5 years,” Gonzalez said.
New teachers will receive a starting salary of $55,445. This is up $1,965 from one year ago. Teachers with 1 to 5 years of experience will receive a 4 percent raise. This means teachers will average a take home pay of $57,120.
Teachers, like Gonzalez, with 6 or more years of experience will receive a 4.75 percent raise. This means teachers will average a take home pay of $57,995 to $68,015.
Despite the raise, Gonzalez says she plans on keeping her side gig.
“Just so I can stabilize myself. You got to remember that teachers are on a set budget, if you want to go on a nice vacation you need that second job. I would allocate that funding to treat myself to a nice vacation. However, it got to the point where the cost of living [increased] and I needed to pay bills so now hopefully I go back to being able to save for a nice vacation,” she said.
District leaders also raised compensation for auxiliary staff and support personnel by 4.7 percent. It was a bonus Gonzalez and the Northside American Federation of Teachers pushed for.
“I was happy that we finally got noticed for our work and they considered us for high pay raise because usually we only get a 2 percent pay raise,” said Norma Barnes, a ALE support staff member.
For the most part, other districts in Bexar County offered their full-time teachers similar raise. Northeast ISD, the city’s second largest district, is giving teachers a 3 percent pay increase. While teachers with 6-15 years of experience will get 4.4 percent increase.